


Aloe You Very Much

by poindexters



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, dex is cute even with a sunburn, unadulterated flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-08-09 06:19:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7789951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poindexters/pseuds/poindexters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dex gets a really bad sunburn that may lead to a really hot date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aloe You Very Much

**Author's Note:**

> Yes the title is a pun, no I'm not sorry in the slightest.

Dex was used to the comments. He knew he was pale. He knew his red hair made him stand out in a crowd, and while he hated the attention it was something he'd learned to deal with. But this? Walking through the aisles of Walgreens with skin redder than his hair, was something else entirely. 

"Do you need any help finding- HOLY FUCK," the sales assistant nearly toppled a display of nail polish when Dex turned to face him. 

"DEREK!" Yelled the girl at the end of the aisle. She was busy stocking multivitamins, but took a brief second to glare in Derek's direction. 

"Uh, I'm so sorry for that outburst sir- mister- dude," he took a deep breathe, running his fingers through his hair... his spectacular hair, "you just scared me." 

"I'm pretty sure I made a kid pee himself next to the snack aisle, so this is a major improvement," Dex said. Derek laughed at that, and Dex found himself smiling for the first time that week.

"We keep the aloe gel next to the skin cream. I can show you where it is," Derek said, beckoning Dex to follow him. 

"I'm Will, by the way, but you can call me Dex. Everyone does," Dex was finding it increasingly difficult to keep his cool. Why had he introduced himself? Did normal people introduce themselves to store clerks? Were normal store clerks this goddamn dreamy? 

Derek scanned the shelf in front of him. "I'm Derek, but I'm pretty sure you already knew that. You can call me Nursey if you want." After another second of looking, his fingers closed around a big bottle of Aloe Vera gel. 

"Here it is!" Nursey exclaimed, flashing another prize-winning smile in Dex's direction. "Although I can't seem to find the price anywhere... if you give me a second I can bring it to back and check," but before Dex could give so much as a nod of confirmation, Nursey was speeding away towards the storage room. 

In the time that Dex considered the pros and cons of asking the cute clerk for his number, he also noticed something strange. Every other bottle of Aloe Vera on the shelf sported a flashy orange price tag proclaiming that for the low cost of $4.99,  _you_   _too_ could cool and sooth your skin. Surely Nursey couldn't have missed something like that. 

"It's $4.99 for the whole bottle," Nursey said as he sauntered up the aisle. Once he was in range he tossed the bottle to Dex. 

"I'm sure I'll only need half," Dex said, "that's 2.50 right?" 

"Mathematically yes, but have you looked in the mirror recently?" There was that smile again, wide and contagious. Dex felt his cheeks flush, and for the first time in his life he was thankful to his sunburn for covering it up. 

"I guess I'm gonna go buy this now," he said, gesturing towards the check out, "thanks for everything Nursey." 

"It was my pleasure," Nursey said, and then he was gone once again. 

~

Dex knew where Nursey worked, he knew he had a shift every Wednesday around five, and he knew he was the most beautiful boy he'd ever laid eyes on. And yet he simply couldn't bring himself to go back. 

 _What if I misinterpreted his signals?_ Dex thought.  _What if he's straight, and he's got an equally gorgeous girlfriend who also works at Walgreens?_ Dex pondered.  _What if they laugh about the lobster boy who was too stupid to put on sunscreen before falling asleep in the sun?_

It wasn't until a week later that Dex took a closer look at his bottle of Aloe Vera. 

He was applying another coat to his peeling skin when his eyes caught a bit of pen scribbled at the bottom of the label. It was the name 'Derek Nurse' followed by a ten digit phone number. Dex nearly screamed. 


End file.
